The young professors
by Midnight-rambles
Summary: Echizen Ryoma has feelings for a special girl. His team mates decides to help him. Somehow, 'help' doesn't seem to be the right word . . . [sakunoxRyoma] light romance. Cowritten with StillFantasy
1. Boy likes girl

The Young Professors

Co-written by Incomparable and Still-Fantasy

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Boy likes Girl

1

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A/N: HELLOOO!!! Yes, this is a new fanfic that we have decided to take on. This will be written by two people as you should've noticed. We had several disputes about the plot. Still-Fantasy had wanted to give Ryoma a multiple personality disorder but I fought against it for obvious reasons.

Enjoy! Leave lots of reviews! We love reviews. If you have anything to say to us, you can pm us. We won't bite you XD.

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Echizen Ryoma tapped his pen impatiently at his table. He sighed, there was still ten minutes of class left. The teacher was making a ridiculous fool out of himself, you could barely hear the English under the heavy accent. Ryoma saw no point in attending these classes when he already knew the dialect fluently.

After returning from America a year ago, Ryoma had enrolled in 'Seigaku High', one of the top schools for tennis. He had caused quite a stir among the club members, few had expected this rookie to become such a hit. Within weeks, he already had his own fan club, not that he had anything to do with it. He cringed every time they started cheering. If you could call it cheering. It was more of making a noisy unwanted racket and had quite the opposite effect, it was really quite a bother having them there.

His thoughts drifted to a certain girl. A certain girl with extremely long hair. "She still needs a haircut to play properly" He muttered to himself. _Wait, why do I even care?_ Ryoma had realized that for the past few weeks or so, he mind kept turning to Sakuno.He even noticed little details like when she blushed around him. It had always amused him when she acted so nervous. He chuckled softly at the thought.

Ryoma left class in a good mood.

While he was making his way to the tennis courts, he tried to sort out his feelings for her. Did he like her or was it more of a minor attraction? Suddenly a shadow loomed over him. He looked up to see Momoshiro looking down at him. a/n: that was a really weird sentence which stated the obvious, please don't question our intelligence XD

"Um, sempai . . . Can we go for a walk, I have something I want to ask you" Ryoma stared at his feet.

"Ok-ay" said Momoshiro curiously. This was not Echizen's normal attitude.

As they walked, Ryoma cursed himself mentally. _What am I doing? Why the hell am I asking Momoshiro for romantic advice?! I still have the chance to turn back –_

"So Echizen, what is it?" _Damn_, Echizen realized Momoshiro was talking to him.

"Okay" Ryoma started. "Let's say, there was a boy called Bob and a Girl called … Bobby. Bob thinks he likes Bobby but is not sure. Bob also thinks Bobby likes Bob but is not sure about that either. How should he confront his feelings?"

Momoshiro stared at Ryoma for a while, then a grin started to spread on his face. "Echizen, by any chance, are you Bob?"

_Shit_! _Was it that obvious? _"Um. Kinda. Maybe. Yea?" Ryoma admitted, still staring at his shoes.

"Okay then, what about Bobby? Who's that?" Momoshiro could hardly keep the grin off his face.

"Classified information for me to know and you to never find out" Ryoma said, finally looking up to see his friend shaking with silent fits of laughter. _Dammit! I knew it was stupid to ask him. He's treating it like a joke. "_You know what? Forget I mentioned anything. This conversation is over" With that, Ryoma stormed away to the tennis courts.

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Momoshiro was still laughing when the rest of the regulars walked past towards the courts.

"Yo Momo. What so funny?" Asked Oishi.

"You would never guess what Echizen just asked me for today!" Momoshiro replied through fits of laughter.

"What is it Momo? Tell us quickly!!" Whined Kikumaru.

"Okay, okay, let's say it this way; boy likes girl, boy thinks girl likes him, boy not sure what to do"

"Is this boy . . . you can't be serious . . . ECHIZEN?!" Suddenly they all burst out laughing except for Kaidoh who just went "Fshhhht".

"I think we should all support Echizen. You know, give him advice and stuff, we could even give him lessons." Offered Fuji.

All heads turned his way. Fuji continued "You know, we could each teach him a little about romance and how to get that girl. Its about time Echizen started to take interest to something else other than tennis."

"Yeah!" Kikumaru said excitedly. "We could each have him for a day and teach him! By the end of our special course, he should be confident enough to confront that girl!"

Everyone reacted enthusiastically to the idea, though, Kaidoh just went 'Fshhhhht' again. Quickly they busied themselves listing ideas that they would use when it was their turn to be Ryoma's love professor.

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On the courts, Ryoma was still unaware of his fate.

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	2. Kaidoh's attempt

A/N: Yeahh!!! You're on the second chapter! We hope you like what we've written. You wouldn't believe the number of times Still-Fantasy had to edit what Incomparable wrote. Ahh, gomenasai! Incomparable types too fast and Still-Fantasy is a perfectionist to a fault. We all greatly appreciate reviews on how you think the fanfic is progressing!! Read on!

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Kaidoh's Attempt

2

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"ALRIGHT EVERYONE!! It's time to pick your straws!" Everybody hurried over to Kikumaru to take their pick. "The person with the shortest straw will get to be ochibi's first professor!"

Everybody looked down at the straw in their hand and then shifted their eyes to the straws in the other people's hands.

"Fshhhhht" Everybody's head turned to the direction of the sound. Kaidoh was sitting there looking down at his remarkably short straw with disbelief. "KAIDOH-KUN! You'll be ochibi's first professor eh?" Kikumaru had bounded playfully next to Kaidoh putting an arm around him. Everyone was smiling but their thoughts were clear.

_Is this okay?_

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Kaidoh was doing his evening run. Many thoughts were going around in his head, all regarding a certain rookie. What had that brat gotten into this time and why did _he_ have to be his first professor. Kaidoh knew close to nothing about romance. Kaidoh remembered his team-mates giving him advice on how to teach him.

_FLASHBACK:_

"Kaidoh! You have to remember to be subtle with him. He might be sensitive about his crush" Oishi had told him.

"When you talk to him, don't glare like you normally do, try using understanding eyes" _What the hell?_ Kikumaru had said.

"It would be a miracle if Echizen comes out sane" Inui chuckled.

"I heard that! Fshhht"

_END OF FLASHBACK_

Bit by bit, a strategy formed in his mind that seemed easy enough to teach._ Okay, Echizen _Kaidoh said mentally _You better be ready for me._

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Of course, Ryoma was standing there innocently waiting for practice to begin, not at all aware of a new type of training that awaited him.

"Fshhhht" Ryoma looked up to see Kaidoh glaring at him, as usual. "Hey, Echizen, have a match with me in the next court"

"Fine" replied Ryoma.

Halfway through the game, Kaidoh was formulating how to incorporate his lesson into this match. Just as he was about to hit the 'snake shot' he started talking. "Echizen, a girl is like a prey, you have to be a snake to get her. You have to wait patiently and get the time right to make your move"

"Heh?" Ryoma blinked. _Is this a new technique that the Viper had thought of? Shock opponents with mental rubbish and then strike when they least suspect it?_ "Um . . . ok, I'll keep that in mind"

But Kaidoh continued talking. "Endurance is the key. No matter how many times she escapes your grasp, don't give up."

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_What the hell_ thought Ryoma when he headed off to the change rooms.

"Hey guys? Have you noticed Kaidoh's newest technique" He asked them.

"He has a new technique? What wonderful data . . . fufufu. What is it?" Asked Inui.

Ryoma recounted the court incident. "I've concluded that he was either trying to distract me or he was just off his rocket"

The room was silent, then the other team members burst out laughing. _What kind of advice was that?! _Everyone thought.

As soon as they settled down, Ryoma demanded an explanation. Everyone was barely concealing grins. Finally Momoshiro spoke up "You see Echizen, we were worried about you and your uh, lack of knowledge in . . . female affairs. We thought we should _assist_ you in getting your . . . _Bobby._"

Ryoma wheeled around to Momoshiro. "You told them?" Ryoma said outraged.

Momoshiro ignore Ryoma and continued "We've decided that each of us would spend a day teaching you. We would give you advice within our knowledge. By the time we're done, you should be able to confront her. Of course, we didn't expect Mamushi to fail so miserably. Actually, I sorta expected that but that's beside the point."

Unfortunately, at this time, Kaidoh came back and he didn't seem to be taking the comment very well, which resulted in a fairly heated up fight between Kaidoh and Momoshiro.

Echizen Ryoma on the other hand, just stood there blinking. _How the hell did he get himself into this?_

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	3. The letter

A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews. They've made our day, well, our afternoon anyway. Still-Fantasy is flicking me with a rubber band at the moment which, is kind of annoying but that's alright, Still-Fantasy has poor aiming. Hahaha.

Still-Fantasy here! The only reason I keep missing is because Incomparable won't stop moving! Anyway, ignore our Battle of the Rubber Bands. That's not what this story is about.

The third chapter ------

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The Letter

3

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"Alright! It's my turn to be Echizen's professor!!" Momoshiro exclaimed.

_Damn _Ryoma thought _It doesn't seem like they're going to ditch this pathetic scheme soon. _ Before Ryoma could protest, Momoshiro dragged him to a stationery shop.

"C'mon, c'mon. Unlike that viper, I'm going for a rather rational technique . . . love letters. This would definitely do the trick!" Momoshiro picked up a shockingly bizzare pink piece of cardboard.

"Oh hell no!" Ryoma started to back away. "You can't be serious. I'm not touching that thing."

"Don't be silly Echizen, it's _perfect_. Now, all we need is some frills and heart stickers." Momoshiro grinned. He was enjoying this.

Ryoma rolled his eyes. _He's only doing this to help me, he's only doing this to help me_, Ryoma kept on chanting it at the back of his head.

Once they bought the materials, much to Momoshiro's pleasure, they headed to Ryoma's house. Inside his room, Momoshiro was trying to get Ryoma to co-operate in writing the letter.

"MOMO! If you're so into this, why don't you write it yourself!" Ryoma practically yelled. Suddenly, Momoshiro's face lit up. _What a great idea._ He quickly busied himself with the pens, cardboard, stickers and frills. As soon as he finished, he proudly displayed his work to Ryoma.

Much to Ryoma's displeasure, it was covered with pink and gold writing, heart stickers and lacy whatnots. His expression turned from bad to worse as he went on to reading the context of the letter:

_My dearest Bobby,_

_My heart throbs every time I see you. I can barely sleep at night as your lovely face swims across my vision. Your beautiful voice echoes in my ears, like a lullaby when I sleep. My heart swirls like a hurricane whenever you are near._

_I can't stop thinking about you, my angel. I am too much of a chicken not being able to confront you myself. Please forgive my cowardness. You are just too beautiful to approach._

_Please give me the chance to approach you one day and express my dearest love for you._

_Yours forever,_

_Echizen, Ryoma_

Ryoma was seething. Momoshiro unfortunately for his health, didn't seem to notice. "It's beautiful isn't it? I never realized that I was such a writer."

Something in Ryoma snapped. "This is the most appalling, delusional, self-destructive letter that I've seen in my life. There is no way you're going to leave my name at the bottom either!" Saying so, he pulled out liquid paper and painted it over his name. He continued on with his rant. "Further more, her name isn't Bobby! It is –" Ryoma stopped himself in time when he noticed Momoshiro leaning forward eagerly.

Disappointed, Momoshiro sank back in his chair. "You know, you can't possibly slip her the letter when it's addressed to Bobby"

"I know, who said anything about sending the letter anyway" Ryoma replied cheerfully.

Momoshiro sighed. "Fine, I'll give it to Sakuno myself-" Momoshiro just realized what he said and took a sideways glance at Ryoma. The sight nearly made him lose it. Ryoma's mouth was open but no words were coming out.

"Geee- look at the time, I should get going shouldn't I " Momoshiro grabbed the letter and made a dash for the door. Ryoma was still standing there gawking at the chair that Momoshiro sat seconds ago.

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It was 8.30 am. Momoshiro was on a mission. He had to get the letter to Sakuno's locker before first period. He walked discreetly along the first year's hallway stopping in front of her locker. He looked both ways and slipped the letter in. _Mission Completed._ He then crouched behind another set of lockers waiting for Sakuno's arrival.

He was utterly surprised to find the rest of the team huddled there already. "What are you all doing here in this crampy little space?" Momoshiro asked everyone.

"Same thing as you are – spying"

"Wait, be quiet! I think I hear Sakuno, well, mainly Tomoka but Sakuno is normally with her"

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As Sakuno opened her locker, a pink envelope fell out. "Huh? What's this?" As she read the contents of the letter, her face turned red. "SA-KU-NO! Show me your letter!" Without waiting for a reply, Tomoka grabbed it. "Oooh! Sakuno has a secret admirer!!"

Sakuno looked around hoping no one heard her friend's comment. Thankfully, no one noticed, well, no one that wasn't crouching behind the other set of lockers.

That would've been quite a sight for any first year who just happen to stop by those lockers.

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	4. Social Data

A/N: Hello!! It's us again! There is a bit of explaining to do before we continue this story. Okay, 'The Young Professors' is written by TWO people; Still-Fantasy and Incomparable. Thus, the story is on both of our accounts. People also might be wondering why the story was published two days later on Still-Fantasy's account than Incomparable's. Well, that is because Incomparable already had an account and could publish right away but Still-Fantasy's account was just made and there is a rule where new accounts can not publish for the first three days it was made.

Moving on, since this story is on both accounts, feel free to take a look in both of our accounts and the stories we have authored.

Review! If you want, review on both of our accounts!! Our egos depend on it. XD. Now, on with the story –

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Social Data

4

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Sakuno stared at the letter. Was this some sort of joke? It certainly didn't seem like a letter written by any guy, unless he had an obsession with pink. Only girls would write letters in this style. Perhaps someone was pranking her. She relayed her theory to Tomoka.

"I suppose that is a possibility." Replied Tomoka. "Pity though. For a second I thought life was getting interesting. But who would send such a letter?"

"I don't know" Sakuno frowned. "I don't think there's anyone so absurd at school."

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_WHAT?!_ Momoshiro fumed silently. _How was that letter absurd?! Why, that was one of my best pieces!_ Behind Momoshiro, the rest of the crew were having silent fits of laughter.

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"Alright, who's ochibi's next professor?" Kikumaru asked everyone.

"Fufufu, I think it's me." Said Inui.

"Wonderful! This time, make sure Sakuno doesn't think ochibi's a girl."

"Hey!" Momoshiro exclaimed. "I heard that! That was _totally_ not my fault. If Echizen had co-operated, they could be dating by now!"

The other team members glanced at each other. _Yeah, right._

"Never mind Momoshiro Inui," Kikumaru said, "off you go!"

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"So, Echizen, I've been calculating some figures in my head. It seems that you have a -10 possibility of succeeding if you continue down this path of insanity. Therefore we're going for a more sensible approach. I've been asking around and collected some social data for what girls look for in guys."

_Huh?_ Ryoma blinked. _He had this sudden image of Inui racing around the school, forcing a microphone in front of every girl he met. _

"Gee Inui…thanks… Glad to know you care so much about me…"

"Fufufu! Now, I noticed that girls mainly go for looks. I'm thinking of getting you glasses instead of wearing the contacts you have." Inui said, fingering his own glasses. "I believe it gives you a more intellectual look."

"First of all, I don't wear contacts, you've got your data wrong and secondly, an intellectual look is . . . not what I'm looking for at the moment." Ryoma chose his words carefully.

"Oh. I see." Inui looked disappointed. "But I was so sure it maximize your success rate. Maybe if you drank some more of my vegetable juices, your body would look more masculine."

"Are you saying that my current image is feminine?!" Ryoma said incredulously.

"No, no, you just need more exercise to tone your body," Inui said. "That's it! If it works for Kaidoh, it'll work for you! Everyday, 10km of running in the morning and afternoon! Push-ups! Sit-ups!"

"Uh, no thank you. I don't want to look like the Viper plus, I think you're getting a tad too excited now. Calm down and breathe Inui – sempai."

"Oh, in that case, we should use our time to observe the female population to understand them better."

And so, they spent the rest of the day hiding behind bushes, lockers and . . . people.

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	5. Some entertainment

A/N: We're so happy that everyone is reviewing and reading this story. We added our reviews and we have reached 30 reviews!! Thank you to you all but don't stop now!! Keep reviewing and reading!! XD.

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Some Entertainment

5

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"You spent the whole day doing _what?_" All the team regulars cracked up.

"Seriously guys, I think I can manage just fine without – " Ryoma started but was cut off.

"Hello Echizen, I believe that it is my turn." Fuji said with a smile.

Ryoma sighed. _Okay, no one is listening to me._

"Come come," Fuji continued, "I have an idea."

Fuji lead Ryoma into an unknown shop. _Oh hell_ thought Ryoma as they walked inside. _A designer shop?!_

Fuji kept smiling. "Ryoma, you have to walk the walk, talk the talk and . . . dress the dress to have Sakuno notice you."

Before Ryoma could retaliate, Fuji pushed him into the dressing room and threw him a Western suit. Ryoma stared at it. It was navy blue with vertical white stripes across the front and back. _You've got to be kidding me!_ Ryoma had half a mind to throw it in the nearest bin, but he knew that Fuji was barricading the door outside. He had no choice but to put it on.

"Hm…not bad," said Fuji thoughtfully as Ryoma stepped out, "but…it's not noticeable enough."

_WHAT THE HELL IS HE TALKING ABOUT?! THERE'S A KID PUSHING HIS FACE AGAINST THE WINDOW STARING AT ME FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!!! _Ryoma glared at Fuji and stormed back inside and tried to be as fast as he could to get changed and get out. Not fast enough. He was almost done when Fuji threw him anther suit. _Shit_ thought Ryoma. One hundred ways to kill Fuji crossed his mind. He looked at the jacket. It was a bright, top of the range…pink. Ryoma grimaced and started to shove his arms in the distasteful sleeves. As he stepped out, he noticed that there were now _five_ kids pushing their face against the window. Fuji looked at the growing crowd.

"Much better."

Ryoma now had one hundred and thirty-five ways to kill Fuji Shusuke.

"There is no _way_ I'm stepping out in this suit."

"Fine. I'll get you another one."

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Echizen Ryoma finally stepped out the store with a suitable suit. Suitable for Fuji that is. It had the highest record; twenty-six people staring from the window.

"Neh, wasn't that fun Echizen?"

Ryoma grumbled.

"Oh yes. Very fun Fuji-senpai."

"Now, get into the change rooms and put the suit on."

"Now?!"

"Why not?"

_Why not indeed_ thought Ryoma as he plodded of to the change rooms. He came out in the bright blue suit with _white polka dots_ printed all over it. People automatically stopped in their tracks.

"What a weirdo."

"The poor kid has lost his mind."

"Hey, isn't he part of the regular team?"

"They must have pushed him _really_ hard."

"Either that or they've made him really brave."

Ryoma stormed up to Fuji.

"IS THIS SOME KIND OF JOKE?!" hissed Ryoma.

"Well," said the smiling Fuji, "it _did_ create some wonderful entertainment."

Ryoma gave Fuji a death glare. Unfortunately, Fuji didn't notice and kept smiling. Ryoma threw off the suit and stormed off.

_Whoever's next better be sane._

Fuji watched Ryoma go. _Pity, it was such a good suit._


	6. Double Trouble

A/N: Hi again all! This chapter will include two team members, as both their stories are rather short. Please don't flame us for it. The next chapter will be longer. We promise

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Double Trouble

6

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"Tezuka! You're next!" Kikumaru said cheerfully.

"Forget it. I'm not participating in your ridiculous scheme." Tezuka turned his back on Kikumaru and walked towards the tennis courts.

"Nani, Tezuka's being a party pooper." Kikumaru said to Oishi.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it."

At the courts, the rest of the team members were discussing what to do with ochibi. This constant chatter started to annoy Tezuka.

"Echizen. Run 20 laps. Now!"

Ryoma jumped to his feet.

"NANI?! I'm not do…"

"Thirty laps."

"But they…"

"FORTY laps Echizen Ryoma!"

Ryoma gaped at Tezuka.

"Run. Now! Girls prefer strong muscular bodies."

Silence.

"NYA TEZUKA BUCHOU!" Kikumaru bounded up to the team captain. "I thought you said you weren't participating in our ridiculous scheme!" he said joyfully, mimicking Tezuka's words.

"I wasn't going to, but if it'll make Echizen work harder, it's fine by me."

Ryoma ran the laps, cursing the whole entire thing with every breath.

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As Echizen Ryoma returned inside the courts, he saw the team members pushing Kawamura towards him. _Oh no, so soon? _

"Hi Echizen," Kawamura said nervously. "Ummm. So, what do you want me to do to help you?"

"Nani Kawamura, you can't help ochibi like that! Here, have your racquet." Kikumaru passed it to Kawamura.

Ryoma, from past experiences, took several steps back. It was lucky he did. As soon as Kawamura held the racquet, he started swinging it about.

"BURNING!!! GREAT!!!" Kawamura yelled out. "ECHIZEN! YOU'RE SUCH A WIMP! YOU CAN'T EVEN TELL SAKUNO YOUR TRUE FEELINGS! HAHAHA. WIMPY ECHIZEN!"

Everyone blinked. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to pass Kawamura that racquet. He seemed to be lowering Echizen's self – esteem. Ryoma gingerly took the racquet from Kawamura's hand. Kawamura's fierce posture suddenly disappeared.

"Ano…what did I just say?"

Ryoma shook his head. He had yet to find a sane professor.


	7. Too Much Worry

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Too Much Worry

7

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"Come on Oishi! It's your go!"

Oishi glanced nervously at his fellow team members.

"Do I _have_ to do this? What if something goes wrong? What if I make a total fool out of myself?"

_You don't have to worry about that_ thought Ryoma bitterly _I've got that bit covered._

Finally, after much encouragement, Oishi took Ryoma aside for some 'training.'

"Okay, here's what we're going to do Echizen. You are going to walk up to Sakuno and confess your feelings."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to hang at the back and do your worrying for you."

_Great_ thought Ryoma. _Just great._ Still, at least he didn't have to wear a suit or anything. He still hadn't forgiven Fuji. Ryoma and Oishi walked around the school looking for Sakuno. They finally spotted her sitting at a bench with Tomoka.

"Do I have to do this in front of Tomoka?"

"Don't worry. I'll be doing all the worrying for you."

As Oishi his behind a bush (_lucky him_ thought Ryoma) Ryoma slowly began t walk towards Sakuno. _What if she rejects me? I'll be making a total fool of myself. Tomoka will probably spread the news to everyone. Will I be humiliated for the rest of my life?_

"OISHI! YOU'RE NOT WORRYING ENOUGH!!!"

"Gomenasai Echizen! I'm trying as much as I can!"

"Well try harder."

Ryoma finally reached Sakuno, who looked up.

"Ano…is something wrong Ryoma-kun."

Ryoma opened his mouth, but no words came out. At that moment, Oishi jumped out from his hiding place.

"ARGH, there's too much to worry about! I'm on overload!"

Oishi grabbed Ryoma and dragged him back to the rest of the team, leaving a bewildered Sakuno behind.


	8. Author Note

Unfortunately this isn't a chapter. We're here to tell you that we've hit a slight hitch in our story writing, known as school. That's right, school (where literacy begins) is preventing us from writing/typing. But don't worry. We're almost done on the next chappy. Please don't flame us for the delay.


	9. Shopping with Eji

A/N: Yes, this fic is coming _close_ to an end. Thank you to everyone who has read this fanfic and those who have also reviewed. Also thank you for waiting for such a long time for this chapter to come out.

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Shopping . . with Eji

8

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"Nya! It's my go ochibi!" Kikumaru said gleefully.

Ryoma shook his head and sighed. Kikumaru was now the last regular that hadn't _assisted_ him yet. He had already been through enough trauma to be admitted to a mental institute and still hadn't gotten a step closer to admitting his feelings for Sakuno.

Kikumaru bounced joyfully to Ryoma and started pushing him towards the door. "Don't worry Ochibi! I'll bring you back safe and sound," Kikumaru said with a wink.

"I doubt it," Ryoma muttered under his breath.

"Nya, ochibi! How much money do you have on you?"

"How about…_none_. People don't tend to bring money to tennis practices."

Kikumaru fumed. "Fine, I'll lend you some money. Let's see now…you'll about…10…20…30…40…no…100 dollars!"

Ryoma stared, mouth-open. _This isn't looking good. What on _earth_ are we going to buy?!_

As if Kikumaru read Ryoma's thoughts he continued. "We're going gift shopping! All girls love surprises!"

_Oh. At least it sounds sane enough. _Oh how wrong he could be.

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"Ochibi look!!" Kikumaru was pointing towards a ladies perfume store.

As they looked around the perfume stands, the shopkeeper came over. "Good afternoon. May I help you?"

"Yes, we're looking for perfume. " Said Kikumaru.

_Oh really. What else are we doing in a perfume shop?_ _Eating hamburgers? _Ryoma thought.

"May I inquire who the perfume is for?" The shopkeeper politely asked.

"For him" Kikumaru pointed to Ryoma.

"I see." The shopkeeper quite clearly looked like she couldn't see. _Why do all the weirdoes come out in the afternoon during my shift?_

"No, no," Ryoma quickly corrected. "You see, it's for a _friend._"

"Oh, _now_ I see," The shopkeeper nodded. "So, what type of scents does your _friend_ like?"

"The nice smelling kind." Ryoma replied.

Kikumaru sighed. Quite obviously, Ryoma didn't shop often enough.

The shopkeeper forced a smile. _Was this a joke?_ "Well, we have quite a large range of _nice smelling_ kinds. Is there something in _particular?"_

Ryoma looked confused. _Surely not everything smelt nice._ Kikumaru quickly led Ryoma out of the store. "Ochibiiii! You're not co-operating!"

Ryoma shrugged. "Can't we just get her a voucher to the local hairdresser?"

"Ochibi, where's your sense of romance?! Plus, it's very insulting, by giving her a hairdresser voucher, she's going to think you don't like her current appearance."

Ryoma fumed. This was getting frustrating.

"Oo! This is a good store!" Kikumaru lead Ryoma to the opposite store. Ryoma stopped at the entrance.

"Eiji-senpai, this is a _jewellery_ store. Full of _gold _and_ diamonds_. I can't afford anything here!"

"But ochibi, you need a ring!"

"What the hell do I need a ring for?!"

"Nya ochibi! Don't be stupid. How else are you going to propose to Sakuno?"

"Pro…propose t…to…Sa….Sa…Sakuno…" spluttered Ryoma. "Eiji-senpai," he said, trying to control his temper, "I haven't even asked her out yet. Don't you think you're going a _little_ too fast?" _WHAT THE HELL IS HE THINKING?! HAS HE GONE MAD?! I'M GOING TO WRING HIS NECK UNTIL IT'S BARELY A CENTIMETRE WIDE!!!_

"Oh, am I?" Kikumaru didn't seem very good at picking up murderous vibes. "Then perhaps we should try-"

"Eiji-senpai," said Ryoma suddenly, "it looks like it's going to rain."

"But there isn't a clou-"

"Doesn't matter. We're going anyway." Ryoma grabbed Kikumaru and dragged him away from the stores, and Ryoma's hell.

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	10. Mada Mada Dane

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Mada Mada Dane

9

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Kikumaru continued. "So, ochibi. Who do you think helped you the most?"

None of you. You're all a bunch of psychopaths. Ryoma didn't voice these thoughts aloud, he didn't want to die young. 

"Uh…gee…that's a hard one. You all gave me the same amount of help," replied Ryoma vaguely. _Yeah, no help at all._

"Aw, come on ochibi. Don't be shy, pick someone!"

"Alright. I pick…Kaidoh because his method was short and to the point." _And involved the least humiliation._

Everyone turned their heads towards Kaidoh.

"Fshhhhht." Kaidoh shrugged. Despite his coolness outside, inside Kaidoh was writhing with embarrassment, shock and revulsion. _I always knew Echizen was crazy. Just not _this_ crazy._

The other team members however started arguing about who _really_ helped Ryoma the most. Ryoma sighed. _This is hopeless. Why don't I just ask Sakuno by myself. At least if she rejects me none of the other team members will know._ Ryoma started to head back to the bench where Sakuno was.

-----------

It turned out that Tomoka had left and Sakuno was sitting by herself. _Good. That means more privacy._

"Ry….Ryoma-kun…y…you're back…" stuttered Sakuno. She inwardly winced. _Isn't it obvious his back? Why do I keep stating the obvious? It's so humiliating. But what's he doing here? What does he want?_

"Yeah. I'm back." Ryoma inwardly winced. _Isn't it obvious I'm back? Why do I keep stating the obvious? It's so humiliating. What am I doing here? Does she know what I want?_

"Uh, Ryoma-kun?"

"Yeah Sakuno-chan?"

Sakuno blinked. _Did he just call me Sakuno-chan? Why would he do that?_

Sakuno continued. "I-I want to ask you something."

"Go ahead." Ryoma said curiously. He had originally wanted to talk to her about something but that could wait. One could say he was still a bit nervous. Quite obviously his senpais hadn't helped him much.

"You don't have to answer," said Sakuno hurriedly. "But I was wondering um, you see, I received a . . . letter recently." _Why am I asking him, I'm just going to humiliate myself._

"Yes?" Ryoma mumbled. He bent down to retie his shoelaces so he could hide the pink patches that were appearing on his cheeks.

Unknown to Ryoma, Sakuno also had her head down hoping to disappear into earth as soon as she said the next line.

"Was the letter from you?"

" . . . "

"Forget I said anything" Sakuno hurriedly got up and turned to leave. However, she was pulled back.

"Ryoma-kun?"

"Yeah, the letter was from me but uh, I had nothing to do with the context." Upon looking at Sakuno's crestfallen face he quickly corrected himself. "Sorry, that wasn't supposed to come out like that. I meant what the letter said but, yeah, the context was a little exaggerated but . . . I do like you." Once he said the last line, he quickly bent down to retie his shoelace again. However, this time it was Sakuno who pulled him up.

"I like you too" She said shyly. Ryoma's stunned look slowly turned into a smile.

As they walked back towards the tennis courts together. Sakuno started talking to Ryoma and to her pleasure, she wasn't stuttering.

"Ryoma-kun?"

"Yes?"

"It wasn't you who wrote the letter was it?" She asked.

"No way."

"Then what was going on?" She asked again, curiously.

"Oh, uh, you see. My senpais decided to _assist _me so I can be more comfortable talking to you." He said through gritted teeth. "Unfortunately, pretty much all of them failed."

"So all those times when I saw you doing weird things, and yes Ryoma-kun, I happened to have saw you through the shop window with Fuji-sempai. You were actually trying to get my attention?" Sakuno laughed quietly.

"Uh, yeah" Ryoma turned his head slightly to look in her direction.

Sakuno smiled gently at him. "Mada mada dane."

_The end_


End file.
